Bringing more attention to grappling and BJJ is one of our objectives here at PRO MMA (promma.info). That being said, we recently spoke with the promoter for ADCC Regional Tournaments Brett Boyce who explained how their new competition series works.

“If you are a kid, teen, beginner or an intermediate, you will be able to grapple in a no-gi tournament that has different rules than most other tournaments,” Boyce said. He also explained how ADCC Regionals is the place to be if you want to move on to the big leagues, “You can start to learn how to compete in an ADCC tournament if you have bigger and better plans, like Worlds. ADCC officials will be at every tournament scouting talent.”
In the Expert Division, every regional winner will get invited to the 16-man ADCC National Championships as well as those who accumulate the most points during the season. Boyce explained, “We will be inviting winners as well as people who compile the most points during the year. 1st place is automatic and 2nd – 4th places will get points.”

The Nationals will take place over two days. Boyce broke it down, “The first day will be an open tournament and all skill levels and ages can compete. The winner of the Expert Division on Saturday will get invited to fight Sunday in the 16-man tournament. Winner of that tournament will be crowned ADCC National Champion. We will have Nationals every year at the end of our grappling season which will be in June.”

The first ADCC Regional event of the season will be held in Texas on July 25, 2009 and the second event will be in Las Vegas on Aug. 1, 2009. Following that, it will be Great Lakes on Sept. 12, and then Denver, Seattle, Sacramento, New York, New Jersey, and possibly Boston and Atlanta. The first ADCC Nationals will be held at the end of this grappling year which will be in June 2010.

To give PRO MMA (promma.info) readers a better idea of what the original Abu Dhabi tournament is and it’s connection to the Abu Dhabi Regionals, we had some direct questions for promoter Brett Boyce:

How long has the ADCC Regionals been around?

On and off for a few years, but this is the first time it has been very active with a National Tournament connected.

Could you explain to our readers what the original Abu Dhabi tournament is and where it takes place and how long it has been around.

ADCC was put together to give one platform for all grappling disciplines to participate in. Jiu Jitsu, Wrestling, Judo and Sambo are all well represented at ADCC tournaments. The ADCC World Championships first took place in 1993 in Abu Dhabi. It is held every two years and it has been held in Abu Dhabi, Brazil and the US. This year it will be in Spain and maybe travel to other places over the next few years like Japan and Russia, who knows.

What is the connection between ADCC Regionals and the original Abu Dhabi tournament?

We are still working everything out. As of now, the ADCC Regionals will be judged by Official ADCC judges and follow ADCC rules. All regional Expert winners will go to the ADCC Nationals with the opportunity to be crowned ADCC National Champion. What will be next for that National Champion? We shall see.

How was the ADCC Regionals concept developed, who is behind it, and what prompted the start of a Regional ADCC tournament?

Carlos Diaz is the head of ADCC North America. I approached him with trying to bring more trials to the US. Unfortunately, one East Coast and one West Coast was the most that ADCC Worlds could support. He and I worked together to try and bring this popular brand to everyone and not just people on the West/East Coast. The Regionals and Nationals were born.

What is in the future for ADCC?

Hope for very big things. Would like to see the World Championships move all across the globe. Really want to see today’s Teen competing in a Regional to be tomorrow’s Royler Gracie or Robert Drysdale winning Worlds. Want to see big tournaments that are well run. Want a grappler that competes at any ADCC event say that it was one of the best tournaments they have ever been to. Some promoters have forgotten Business 101. You, the grappler, are the customer. Your satisfaction should be my number 1 priority. I can not guarantee 100% satisfaction but I can guarantee 100% effort.

You can find out more information about the ADCC Regionals and register to compete atwww.ADCCregionals.com. Zebra Mats (www.zebramats.com) is a proud sponsor of ADCC Regionals and will be for sale at every tournament.